


Breakfast in February

by RomeoandAntoinette



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Chickens, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Found Family, M/M, Sappy Ending, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette
Summary: The story of how Sunny got her pet chickens on one special day in February. [MGS4-verse] [Solid Snake/Otacon] [Valentine's Day]
Relationships: Otacon/Solid Snake
Comments: 2
Kudos: 43





	Breakfast in February

Ironically, it was a lack of noise that caused Sunny to wake up.

Since the young girl had started living on the _Nomad_ with Snake and her Uncle Hal, the sound the airship’s engines and running parts created a roar of constant noise. The sound was similar to the constant crashing of ocean waves. It was loud, but far from invasive and unpleasant. It had taken the girl very little time to adjust to the constant sounds of her new home.

That made awakening to the sound of silence all the more jarring.

Wearing a light blue nightgown that was a few sizes too large and so long that the dirtied hem reached her ankles, Sunny traipsed out of bed.

The floor was freezing cold thanks to the February chill, so she slipped on her oversized boots and laced them tightly about her ankles.

The young girl took the metal stairs one at a time as she made her way from her bedroom into the main corridor of the airship.

Along the way, she passed the bedroom that Snake and Otacon shared. When she peered inside, she saw that the bed was made and the curtain over the window was drawn. Outside, she saw a pink sky that was spattered with stars. Beneath the sky, the vast ocean glittered like mica. It seemed to stretch on forever into the distance. 

However, what was even more amazing than the ocean and sky was what Sunny saw immediately beyond the glass.

She saw treetops, but not the ones she was used to seeing. These weren’t green blurs in the far distance, whizzing by at over 100 miles per hour. These were _motionless_ treetops. Completely still.

The _Nomad_ had landed somewhere.

Unable to verbalize her excitement, the young girl jumped up and stamped her feet. She then funneled all her energy into running the span of the ship to where she knew the loading dock was.

On her way to the dock, she stopped in her tracks yet again when she heard unfamiliar sounds from the kitchen. Specifically, it sounded like someone was using the stove and cooking something in a skillet.

This caused her to furrow her brow in confusion. As far as she knew, she was the only one that used the kitchen or any of the utensils.

When she peered around the corner, she saw a familiar figure standing at the stove. They wore a dark turtleneck sweater and pale trousers. Unruly wisps of chestnut-colored hair framed his face, which was smiling.

When he moved the skillet off the stove, Sunny could also hear that he was humming something. The melody was familiar, but she couldn’t place the tune exactly.

After a few moments, the man seemed to sense that he was being watched. He pivoted around and saw Sunny watching him curiously from behind a corner.

“Well, well,” Otacon said as he flicked off the stove’s burner with the flick of a wrist. “I wasn’t expecting company so early! I’m sorry, Sunny. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

She shook her head in response. This caused Otacon to sigh in relief. He adjusted his glasses and refocused his attention back on the stove. “That’s good.”

“W-What are you doing?” Sunny asked, finally finding the words she wanted to speak. She had a hundred questions rattling around in her head like bingo balls, so she opted to ask the most obvious ones first. “Y-You never cook, Uncle Hal.”

The unintentional jab caused Otacon to wince.

“Well, today is a special occasion,” he offered in a cheery voice. “I got up early to make all of us some breakfast.”

“All of us?” she parroted, eyes moving around the empty space. “W-Where’s Snake?”

Something weird was going on. He hadn’t even mentioned the fact the _Nomad_ had landed. For safety and security reasons, the ship was almost always airborne unless it had to refuel, or they had to stop for supplies somewhere. As such, the destinations they usually parked at were unremarkable and usually dangerous. This met that Sunny usually had to remain inside and stare at the surroundings through a window.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t go far,” Otacon said with a laugh. He flipped something in the skillet that looked like a pancake. “Say, now that you mention it, it’s been a while since he went out.”

Sunny gasped. “D-Do you think he’s smoking again?”

He laughed as he plated one of the hotcakes on a bone china plate.

“Why don’t you go outside and see?” Otacon prodded encouragingly.

Sunny was stuck with disbelief. For the first time, the oversized shoes on her feet almost felt too heavy.

“I can go outside by myself?” she asked. In all her wildest dreams, she hadn’t thought that her overprotective uncle would let her walk outside by herself. She hadn’t even entertained the option. “R-Really?”

Otacon hesitated briefly. It was if he was taking a moment to second-guess himself.

“Yes,” he finally said. The word was more of a sigh than an answer. “Just don’t go too far!”

Sunny was too excited to hear the last part.

The loading door was heavier than the others, but after a few tries, she was able to get a good grip and haul it open with a mighty swing. When she opened it, a searingly bright light blinded her. The sun was so bright that she had to squint and throw up her arms in defense.

When her eyes adjusted, she saw a familiar silhouette framed against the sunlight on the open loading bay. The shadowy figure of a muscular but lean man with gray hair and a mustache was before her. His stance was idle, as if he was waiting for something or someone. Hanging from his mouth was an unlit cigarette

“S-Snake!” she called. The sound created a cloud of condensed breath that floated to the heavens and dissipated. The girl was too excited to even register the drop in temperature.

At the sound of his name, the solider turned toward her with a sly smile on his face.

“Hey there, kiddo,” Snake said with a smile. He temped the tobacco in his cigarette by tapping the stick against his thigh. “Rise and shine.”

He used his frame to block the bright sunrise from hitting her eyes. When his shoulder clipped the sun, a purple shadow darted between them and shielded her small, silvery eyes.

With her hands now free, she grabbed the long hem of her nightgown and began to pad down the cargo ramp.

“W-What are you doing out here?” Sunny asked as she carefully made her way down the slope, taking extra care to not trip. Just beyond the edge of the ship’s loading dock, Sunny could see the cold planes and edges of the airship come to an end in a grassy field.

It was only when she got a little closer, about a foot away from the threshold, that she saw the expanse before them was a large place of farmland. The field was lush and dotted with small bundles of tiny white flowers. Each tiny bud swayed and danced on the waves, creating ripples in the land that seemed to go on for miles.

In the distance, there was a bright red barn and a brick silo. She hearing the distant sound of mooing cows and baying sheep, although she was too short to actually see any livestock.

“Wow,” she gasped. “Is this … a farm?”

She heard Snake chuckle behind her.

“That’s right,” Snake said. “Not a bad sight, huh?”

She nodded, enjoying how the cool breeze felt on the back of her neck and legs. The girl closed her eyes and filled her lungs with as much of the clean, cool air that she could handle. When she finally became breathless, she let out a musical giggle.

“I like it,” she told him shyly.

Snake laid a warm hand on her shoulder. His palm covered almost the entire breadth of her entire shoulder.

“Go out a little further, if you’d like,” he said. His voice, while rough with age, was surprisingly gentle.

Sunny took him up off his offer and began a slow advance further.

By the time she reached the bottom of the ramp, Sunny caught sight of something rustling in the tall grass. Curious, she stepped closer to examine the strange pattern in the grass.

Then, she heard the sound of clucking.

Three hens emerged from the grass and approached the young girl curiously. They were three different colors – white, brown and blond – and didn’t appear frightened of human contact. In fact, all three crept up to Sunny calmly. They blinked their large, coppery eyes and ruffed their wings like they were meeting another hen.

The girl’s eyes lit up at the creatures.

“Wow!” she gawked. She kneeled in the grass and extended a hand to them. The birds scattered about a bit before taking to her gesture and approaching her with interest. Upon touching their features for the first time, she was immediately smitten.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Sunny.”

When the girl turned around, she saw that Otacon and Snake were both standing at the threshold of the ship. Both men were standing side by side and watching her fondly from a distance.

The dark brown hen marched forward and pecked softly at the frayed edge of Sunny's boot.

As if sensing exactly what the animal wanted, she bent down and opened her arms. After scooping the bird up with ease, she darted back up the ship’s ramp. The other two hens dashed after the girl to keep up.

She came to a halt in front of the two men and stared up at them with wide, questioning eyes. “Snake, Uncle Hal…?”

“Do you like them, Sunny?” Otacon asked. “They’re yours.”

Snake and Otacon had talked multiple times about bringing some type of livestock onboard the _Nomad_ to produce food in-between longer missions.

When Sunny started taking a liking to the task of cooking, especially with eggs, the duo saw a golden opportunity.

“They’re hens from that chicken farm over there,” Otacon said as he pointed a long arm toward a red building in the distance. “Snake and I have been talking about raising animals, and since hens make eggs, we figured they’d be a good choice.”

The young girl’s eyes were shining. “You mean we really get to keep them?”

“If you want too,” Snake said as he rested his hands on his hips. His cigarette remained unlit and bounced between his lips with every word.

Little did she know that they’d already created a fenced area in one of the _Nomad’s_ vacant storage area that was complete with henhouses, straw beds, feeding trays, and even an egg incubator.

The two had a feeling the young girl would enjoy the idea of having company on the ship, and sure enough, it seemed their hunch had been correct.

“I do, I do!” she replied quickly. Her stutter practically evaporated. “Oh, thank you! I’ll take good care of them!”

Otacon laughed. “Very good. Then it’s settled. Come up with good names for them too, okay?”

Her jaw fell open. “I can name them too?”

“Of course,” Otacon added. “They’re yours, after all.”

For a moment, Sunny looked as stunned as a fish that had been pulled from the water. She stood completely still for almost ten seconds, which caused Snake and Otacon to exchange concerned glances. Finally, Sunny came back to reality and slowly placed the hen back down on the ground.

Once her hands were free, she ran forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Snake and Otacon’s legs. The gesture practically sent the two tumbling to the ground. If Snake hadn’t made the split-second decision to wrap an arm around Otacon’s waist to steady them, the trio would have likely crashed to the ground in a graceless heap.

She didn’t say another word. Instead, she held both her guardians as close as possible. She murmured a could words softly against their legs, but neither of the men could make out exactly what she was mumbling. The force of Sunny's surprisingly strong embrace knocked their bodies together and completely eliminated the sparse amount of space between the two men. The result left Snake red in the face and Otacon flustered, but grinning nonetheless.

When Sunny released them, Snake kept his arm wrapped about Otacon’s waist. Sunny then led the parade of birds back onto their new home on the airship.

Long after the main door shut, their two men remained slotted together in a partial embrace that neither of them longed to move away from.

“I’ve got to say,” Snake said with a brittle laugh, “This is the first time I’ve gotten a girl anything for Valentine’s Day.”

Otacon turned and stared at him in disbelief. “You?”

Snake removed the cigarette that had been hanging between his lips and volleyed Otacon’s confused glance right back at him. “Why the hell are you so confused? Do I have a wife or girlfriend that I don’t know about?”

Otacon sighed and adjusted his glasses. “That’s not what I mean. It’s just…I remember how you flirted with Meryl at Shadow Moses. You certainly know how to, um, woo ladies.”

Snake laughed again. “Is that what you think, Otacon?”

The man reared back a hand and slapped Snake’s shoulder playfully. This caused the hardened soldier to let out a laugh.

“Still, I’m glad she liked her present,” Snake added, staring toward the door. His eyes softened as he recalled the joy on the girl’s face and remembered the tightness of her hug. “She seemed really, really happy.”

Otacon rested his head on Snake’s shoulder and sighed.

He muttered, “We can’t give her a normal life just yet, so … maybe this will help her feel a little less lonely.”

Snake nodded as he pressed his face into Otacon’s hair.

“Who knows?” the gruff soldier added with a chuckle. “Maybe she’ll take up cooking as a hobby. Become a professional egg chef or something.”

Otacon laughed at the ticklish sensation of Snakes lips against his forehead. “Geez. A special operations soldier, an engineer, and an egg chef living on an airship. We’re a pretty strange family, aren’t we?”

Snake lifted a hand to cup Otacon’s cheek. “We certainly are.”

Their faces slotted together like two pieces of a puzzle. Their edges were jagged and imperfect, but they fit together seamlessly. They belonged beside each other better more they did anywhere else in the universe.

That morning in February, the strange family gathered in the Nomad's humble kitchen and shared a homecooked breakfast together.

Of course, Sunny cooked the eggs.

**Author's Note:**

> Do you think love can bloom in a secluded farm field in the middle of February?
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day! I think I may be a few hours late on this one, but I sincerely hope you enjoyed this little bit of Snake/Otacon fluff, featuring Sunny Emmerich.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


End file.
